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Magic Spell Turns Marketing Into Revenues

This is a story about magic,
in particular it is about alchemy: taking basic elements and changing them into
gold.

So, it’s really a story
about change.

As an alchemist, it is my job to transmute brands,
products and marketing practices into profitable revenues.

I start by asking, “Why change?”

Once upon a time,
manufacturers were king: “if we build it, they will come.”Then it was the retailers’ turn: “if we stock
it, they will come.” Today, it’s the consumers that are in charge:“if I want it, you better have it.”

Millennials are responding
to fewer brands, only the huge powerful “killer” brands (Apple, Levi’s, Polo
Ralph Lauren, Nike, and a few others) stimulate them to purchase. I don’t know which brands will be relevant in
2020.

The
world is changing at an accelerated rate.

The iPhone was first shipped on June 29,
2007.It launched the Smartphone
revolution.7 years later, 2014, over
1.4 billion Smartphones will be purchased – that is this year alone.
Smartphones have transformed, even destroyed, entire industries including
cameras, books, music, wallets, television, maps, and even telephones.Smartphones put mobile email, instant messaging
and Internet access in the hands of billions of global citizens. This access
has already resulted in major economic, political and social change… and mobile
shopping. The new Amazon Fire phone isn’t a phone at all; it’s a shopping mall
in disguise.

Speaking of the speed of change: same-day shipping is old news, same-day delivery is so last year.
Macy’s can ship same-day deliver from over 400 doors, 800 by the end of this
year. And, Amazon and Google are experimenting with flying drones, same-hour delivery: Lakeshore Brewing
has already delivered cases of beer by drone. Their motto: “Drop Beer, Not
Bombs.”

Today, cars park themselves, brake themselves, and
keep us in lane. This technology is the precursor to “driverless” cars.

Google Glass, Oculus Prime, and other magic acts
now provide us with wearable augmented reality.

The consolidation of
retailers has led to fewer choices at malls. The proliferation of ecommerce has
led to greater choices online.And, the
Internet provides for total price and product transparency and the advent of
“showrooming.”Inventory is moving from
stores to drop ship distribution centers, and to vendor warehouses.That’s a major change.

How is this future-view useful today? To be transparent, but not invisible, I don’t
know for sure. I do know that I need to be ahead of, or at least beside, the
future so that it doesn’t run me over. Look
in the rear-view mirror: those are the people, and companies, that waited to
change.

LOOK
INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL:

While seated on your sofa, connected via
high-speed wireless connection, using Google glasses, you take a virtual walk through
the Macy’s men’s department, all via augmented reality.Browsing the accessories fixtures, perhaps haptically
“touching” the bio-engineered leather belts. You ask for assistance from a
virtual MCG in-store sales associate, “May I suggest a tie to go with that new
shirt?” The “buy” button hovers in front of you, and you press, “Deliver Today.”

The world is changing and
survival depends on our ability to adapt to change. Take the red pill.

PEEK INSIDE MY CAULDRON:

At Randa Accessories, where I practice
magic, alchemy is not cult, it is culture; and it requires five essential
elements:

OUTSTANDING
PRODUCT: The spell starts with compelling product. The consumer has the deciding and final vote. That vote is for
product. Our product must be outstanding,
in-stock, terrific value and exactly what the consumer desires.We must
continue to be the undisputed expert in each of our product
classifications.

AGILITY & CREATIVITY: Eye of new. Be quick
and entrepreneurial.From top to bottom
we are innovative, creative and fast to change. We know that last year’s magic
is unlikely to work again next year. We invest in constant newness.

TESTING & OPTIMIZATION: Add seasoning to taste.
We are committed to more than creativity, we are committed to assure that our
new ideas are scalable and enter the market. Invention is nice. But, without
economic or social impact, it is useless. For innovation to be important it
must be effective.This requires
discipline. Think of Jim Collins, “Bullets followed by canon balls.”

MEASUREMENT: In alchemy, a “pinch of
this, a little of that” doesn’t cut it. We measure everything.It is our culture, and a core competency, to
be hyper-analytical and highly efficient. Every controllable element, and many
that we cannot control, is precisely measured, and with this visibility, our
efficiency is thereafter improved. This
gained efficiency results in better value for our consumers, greater success
for our partners and therefor more business for us.

PARTNER SUCCESS: The gold is not ours
alone. Finally, and possibly most important, we are committed to making our
partners successful. At Randa, assuring our partners success, at virtually any
cost, is not the opposite of putting our own profit first. We do not see
profits and success as a ‘zero sum’ equation whereby one party’s gain is at the
expense of another party’s loss.

By putting our partner’s success
first we gain trust and loyalty. That loyalty is a currency that we exchange
for unprecedented access to testing new brands, products and
processes.We measure and optimize these
tests, which in turn yield new and greater success for our partners, our
consumers and ultimately for Randa and our associates. Success is a continuum
not a destination.

To non-believers, this wizardry may appear
paradoxical: Measure everything; yet be quick to market. Make our partners
successful; yet focus on our own success.The secret lays in balance and discipline; most important, it lays in
the willingness and commitment to change.

The magic is to turn the base elements of product
and intellectual property into gold; gold which is shared with our partners.
After all, I’m an alchemist not a leprechaun.

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